Apple has removed one of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian-language news apps from the Russian App Store at the request of communications regulator Roskomnadzor, a the news outlet said Friday.
Apple and Roskomnadzor did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters journalists in Russia can still access the app on their mobile devices.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has blacklisted dozens of opposition media websites and banned several foreign social media platforms in a crackdown it sees as part of an information war unleashed by the West after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Moscow’s restrictions on news sites ultimately limit Russians’ access to independent media. Moscow often accuses blocked sites of spreading false information.
RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was convicted in Russia of spreading false information about the Russian military, was released in a prisoner exchange with the West on August 1. RFE/RL CEO Stephen Capus called Kurmasheva’s trial and conviction a “parody of justice.”
One of RFE/RL’s local sites in Russia, Siberia.Realities, said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means “freedom” in Russian, that the Svoboda app was being removed. The application contains Russian content from the Siberia.Realities and North.Realities projects.
In July, the Interfax news agency reported that Apple had removed 25 virtual private network apps from its App Store in Russia at the request of Roskomnadzor, as part of Moscow’s crackdown on the services which help Internet users to circumvent restrictions imposed online.
Apple halted all product sales in Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine and limited its Apple Pay service in Russia.
